Holiday Inn

The Issue

Holiday Inn's brand was all about Joy. But in an ever-changing global culture, how were meanings around Joy changing? What powerful similarities and cultural differences existed in different markets, and how could Holiday Inn put these ideas into action?

The Action

Our global teams analysed the language, symbols and narratives of Joy in UK, Germany and USA culture, looking at everything from brand advertising to photo-streams, movies and birthday card designs. We also undertook semiotic analysis of the hotel lived environments.

We showed Holiday Inn the 'Happy Traps' they were falling into and some bold, culturally-relevant ways of avoiding them.

The Feedback

“Told us exactly where the culture was heading and what we could do about it- thanks!"

Shekhar Deshpande, Head Planner, Wunderman Thompson